Channel 4 wins big at the Grierson Awards

Channel 4 wins big at the Grierson Awards

Channel 4 swept the boards at last night’s Grierson Awards, which celebrate documentaries that have made a significant contribution to the form.

RTS award-winner Grayson Perry was crowned Documentary Presenter of the Year for his Channel 4 series Who Are You? with Grierson Trust chairman Lorraine Heggessey calling Perry a national treasure who “is an interviewer who gets under the skin of his subjects and an artist who captures their essence.”

Other winners for the channel included The Romanians are Coming, which won Best Documentary Series, and Gogglebox, which was dubbed Best Entertaining Documentary.

Channel 4’s Chief Creative Officer, Jay Hunt, said: “The Grierson awards really matter because they recognise the craft of great film making. It’s a tribute to the amazing directors and producers we work with and the strength of the factual commissioners at 4 that we have dominated the awards for the second year running.”

BBC Three also picked up two trophies at the ceremony, which was hosted by choirmaster Gareth Malone at London’s Mermaid Theatre. Rowan Deacon’s film Our War: Goodbye Afghanistan, was named Best Current Affairs Documentary, and was praised by the judges for its "beautifully nuanced, vivid account of the confusion, ethical ambiguities and contradictions faced by real heroes whose lives are broken by what they go through."

Meanwhile director Bruce Goodison collected the award for Best Historical Documentary for Our World War: The First Day.

Speaking at the ceremony, Heggessey said: "Once again our winning films demonstrate the vibrant, exciting and innovative ways in which the UK documentary industry is the world leader. From the provocative to the heart-warming, the funny to the simply astonishing, our award winners deserve the accolade and recognition a Grierson bestows upon them.”